June 02, 2026

How the Left Can Take Back States’ Rights

1 hour 2 minutes

Why are state governments more important than ever? While the Trump administration has been busy gutting and remaking the federal government, it’s critical to remember that the power in Washington was given to it by…the states. This week, Stacey is joined by Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton and Daniel Squadron, cofounder of The States Project and author of The Fourth Branch. They talk about the biggest lessons from their own time as elected officials, the critical ways that state legislatures impact peoples’ lives, share stories of their biggest victories, and argue that the states can be a powerful tool in the fight for Democracy.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

Learn & Do More:

Be Curious: Pick up a copy of Daniel’s book, The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union, to learn more about the power of state government and check out the chapters at the end on how to take action at home.

Solve Problems: We need more people who care about their communities running for state and local office. Run for Something helps recruit, train, and elect young people. Organizations like Emerge and Emily’s List support women candidates, and New American Leaders helps immigrants and refugees run for office. If you’re interested in getting more involved in local races, organizations like States Win and the States project can help you take action in support of local candidates.

Do Good: As schools let out across the country, children will face a summer without school lunch, sometimes their only meal of the day. Consider donating to your local food bank or supporting No Kid Hungry at nokidhungry.org.

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